This invention relates to machines for assembling sheets of laminar material such as paper.
Such machines have been known for a long time, and they usually comprise in addition to a chassis intended to support the assembly of all the particular devices constituting the machine itself;
a certain number of receptacles, usually inclined arranged beside each other, the assembly of the receptacles being able to form either a horizontal battery, or an oblique battery, each of the receptacles of the battery being arranged to receive a packet of sheets, usually identical, intended to form a bundle of sheets.
a certain number of members intended to drive the upper sheet of each packet in each of the receptacles, the said drive being synchronous for all the receptacles.
a collecting member, generally formed of one or more parallel belts and driving in a continuous manner the sheets leaving the receptacles, this drive usually occuring with partial or total automatic superposition of the sheets leaving the receptacles, the said sheets being arranged in a train.
a receiving member, receiving each train of sheets at the end of the travel imposed on them by the collecting member. The bundles of sheets thus formed are automatically superposed on each with a small alternate and systamatic shift made in one direction and then the other at the arrival of each new train.
A machine of this type has been developed by the same applicant and described notably in the Belgium Pat. Nos. 577698 and 601747. Similar machines fulfil their function satisfactorily for bundles having a relatively large number of sheets.
It has become necessary to increase the productivity of these machines and also their reliability of operation. These two conditions appear prima facie completely independent, but account must be taken of the fact that in a machine with a high production rate, the periods of time which are allocated to the members ensuring the reliability of operation are reduced, in order to allow them to effectly carry out all the necessary movements. It is thus necessary to modify completely these members, for example by reducing their own inertia, which reduces the time necessary to set them in motion. Besides, an increase in the production means an increase in the displacement speed of all the movable members of the machine, to a speed at which the usual reliability members cannot function effectively. The same problem occurs in a certain manner for the sheets which are to be assembled, which must be able to be moved rapidly at high speed without running the risk of being torn, folded or crumpled.
It follows therefore that the increased requirement of the user can cause by their presence a certain number of problems in a machine which, in normal operation would not happen.